


The Skinwalker

by bijective



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - Historical, Dark, Multi, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2014-09-16
Packaged: 2018-02-17 15:26:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2314391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bijective/pseuds/bijective
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is the year 1919 and WWI has just ended. Totsuka Tatara a young teacher travels to Kenya lured by the scent of adventure. All is well until a war breaks out and Totsuka is forced to flee. He finds himself lost in the savanna and is rescued by a skinwalker by the name of Suoh Mikoto and here his adventure would start.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story will be quite dark and is in fact my first venture in mature stories. So be warned. I will add tags as the story progresses.

**Yokohama, Japan**

**March 1919**

Totsuka fidgeted under the gaze of the blond man in front of him. He was seating on a straight-backed wooden chair, nervously tapping his foot on the wooden floor waiting for the older man to give his verdict. They were separated not by the physical presence of the oak tabletop of the bar but by the dense silence between them.

The tension was finally broken when Izumo sighed and pushed up his purple colored sunglasses up his nose and asked "Are you serious?"

"Yes…yes I am." replied Totsuka the first yes a bit hesitant but the rest of the words were firm. He watched in apprehension as Izumo drummed his fingers on the polished wood before speaking up in his elder-brother tone "You are serious about leaving Japan to go to some country in Africa, all the way across the ocean to teach."

"It's not some country, I am going to Kenya." replied Totsuka.

Izumo now straightened up and stared down at the younger male, as if trying to intimidate the brunette with his larger physique and said "And there is no job here? In Japan? Totsuka if it's money you need…"

The bartender didn't get to finish his sentence and instead was stopped by an empathic no before Totsuka explained himself "I just… I need to go. I need to see the world."

"Aah.. so its adventure that you want." questioned Izumo.

"Yes.. I want an adventure." replied Totsuka, a smile adorning his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Totsuka leaves Japan while Kusanagi tries to reconcile with the fact that it is time to let Tatara go.

 

 

 

The port city of Yokohama was set on the eastern coast of Japan in the Kanagawa Prefecture. The city, which first started as a small fishing village during the feudal era, would grow into one of the largest foreign trade center in Japan by the end of the nineteenth century. Being a center of foreign trade with a sizeable population of westerners it wasn't completely unusual that cross-cultural marriages would occur.

Izumo's mother had been a beautiful French lady while his father had been Japanese. He had inherited his blond hair and brown eyes from his mother. After his parent's marriage, his father and his maternal uncle had opened a bar near to the port. The bar was frequented both by Europeans and Americans along with upper class Japanese traders and educated individuals.

Since his maternal uncle was unmarried it was expected that Izumo would finally inherit the bar. Hence, since a young age, Izumo found himself helping out at the bar. And that was how Izumo would meet Tatara at the age of fifteen.

_It was a warm summer afternoon and the golden rays were passing through the large glass windowpane into the bar. The light fell across the oak floor and painted the wooden stools in warm earth tones. It reflected off the variously colored bottles containing alcoholic beverages and warmed the atmosphere._

_The bar had just opened and Izumo was sweeping the floor. It was a Sunday and the bar was opening early for the priest of the local church, St. Michael. Mr. Colin Hawksworth was a short, balding old man with a gentle demeanor. He was a good friend of Izumo's uncle and father, thus Izumo called him Oji-san and was quite fond of him._

_Every Sunday, Father Colin would come during the afternoon and talk with his father and uncle. So Izumo wasn't surprised when he saw the man walking towards the bar in his priest's garb. What surprised him was a young boy of about ten walking after the man._

_And that was how Izumo would end up befriending a boy four years his junior. During one's teenage years even the difference of one year with a person feels like a hundred. However despite this Izumo had found himself relating to the younger boy._

_When Totsuka was three his mother died, orphaning him. The local orphanage, run by the church of St. Michael, took him in. Some seven years later the father of the church would bring Tatara to his favorite bar._

_Izumo had welcomed the pair in, wondering about the boy briefly before calling his father. Mr. Kusanagi on entering the bar had been surprised at the strange attachment to the priest, though his face had betrayed nothing. Pouring some gin in a glass he offered it to Mr. Hawksworth and asking, "So who's the boy?"_

_"He is one of the boys from the church. Tatara had been pestering me quite a while to take him along with me on my walks on Sunday afternoons. So I decided to bring him along today." Replied ._

_"I see… Oi! Izumo go sit with the boy. Make sure he doesn't get in any trouble." Said Izumo's father._

_Izumo huffed and went to talk to the boy sitting quietly on the sofa with a big book in his hand. He was staring at the pages intently mouthing the words he was reading. When Izumo sat beside him, he looked up at the older male with big, inquisitive eyes._

_"Hey… What are you reading?" asked Izumo._

_Tatara blinked once before his mouth formed a huge grin on his face showing a few missing teeth. "An atlas!" he exclaimed brightly, jabbing a finger at a bright watercolor picture of a lion._

_"I am gonna meet him!" he informed Izumo, nodding sagely, acting as if he had just let Izumo in on a secret._

_"Won't he eat you?"_

_"Of course not. He knows that I want to be his friend." Replied Tatara with all the seriousness and wisdom of a child._

_Izumo blinked once, at the boy who continued to talk about all the places he wanted to go to. He reminded Izumo of the Little Prince, who despite his seriousness in asking the Aviator to draw him a sheep was nothing more then a child blissfully unaware of the adult world yet so very wise._   **(1)**

It would be the start of a new friendship. Their friendship would soon become a brotherhood and the two would become almost inseparable.

* * *

Izumo sighed softly as he watched Totsuka leave the bar. They had argued about Totsuka's decision to leave Japan. In Izumo's point of view there was no reason for Tatara to leave Japan.

_**Why would he have to go so far away? What is he missing here?** _

Despite his reluctance in agreeing with the other younger male, somewhere deep inside he always knew that some day Totsuka would leave. Even when they were young, he remembered Totsuka as the bright eyed, cheerful boy who would put his finger on a globe and trace his journeys across the seas.

But Izumo did not want to let the other go. They were friends and he cared for the brunette. In a way Totsuka was Izumo's only friend.

Growing up Izumo was always apart from his peers. His blond hair and his height set him apart from his peers who were either in awe or in contempt of him. But Totsuka had the same situation going on for him. So Izumo had found a friend in an excitable kid who talked a mile a minute.

Kusanagi huffed at his own thoughts, pushing his purple sunglasses up his nose. It was ridiculous to go out of sorts over an idiot. Yet despite it all Kusanagi smiled and thought  _'Looks like I have to buy a going away present.'_

* * *

Totsuka left the bar, emotions a strange mixture of slight irritation and sadness; since Kusanagi seemed unable to understand his need to go. Being the kind of person who preferred to have only an optimistic view of life he buried away the stray feelings and forced on an almost unwilling smile on his face.

After all he had to go talk with the manager of church properties, Mr. Miller. With the last thought, he walked briskly towards the tram stop.

Totsuka stood near the tram stop waiting for the vehicle. When the vehicle arrived he hopped on the first coach and sat down by the window. The coach was more or less empty, with very few passengers. The ticket checker, a rather burly looking man in a wrinkled uniform hoisted himself off one of the empty seats and approached Totsuka.

The brunette quickly paid him and took his ticket, before settling down back in the seat. He then looked out of the window, watching the people pass by. Leaning his head against the window he contemplated the previous conversation he had with Mr. Miller.

_A few months back, Totsuka had found himself welcomed into the large, airy office that belonged to Mr. Miller. He was welcomed and asked to sit on one of the chairs placed behind the mahogany desk. Mr. Miller then explained to him about a teaching post that had opened up._

_Totsuka was going to be teaching one of the children of one of the donors, who made generous donations to the church. He was further informed that he would have to go to the East Africa Protectorate, which was one of the British colonies. To be exact he would be going to Kenya._

The ringing of the bell jerked Totsuka away from his thoughts. He glanced out of the window to see whether he had arrived yet. On seeing that he probably wasn't much father away he got up from his seat and ambled towards the door.

When he arrived at his stop, Totsuka stepped down on the road before walking the rest of the way to the church.  
When he arrived, Totsuka was ushered inside the office by one of the maids, who also kindly informed him that Mr. Miller was waiting for him.

"Ah! Totsuka kun come on in and please sit down." asked Mr. Miller.

Totsuka entered the office and sat down on one of the chairs placed opposite of the manager's desk.

"So have you made your decision yet?" he asked.

"Well as I said last time I would love to take the job." Replied Tatara.

"Ah that's great. Anyway that means we have a lot of work in our hands. We have to take care of the passport and other documents."

With that Mr. Miller started to pull out the paperwork from one of the drawers. Meanwhile Tatara relaxed into the chair a bit excited that he was finally doing it. He was finally going to Africa a land he had wanted to visit for so long now. In three weeks he would leave for the place.

* * *

A few days later Izumo found himself in front of Totsuka's door. He knocked on the wood, rapping lightly with his knuckles. The door opened and an auburn haired boy peeked out.

"Ah… Yata chan is Totsuka inside?" asked the blond.

"Oh Kusanagi san come on in." replied Yata.

The room inside was messy. There was stuff cluttered everywhere. Piles of clothes and books, cardboard boxes and odd knick-knacks filled the floor. In midst of this chaos sat Totsuka going through his belongings.

He looked up when Izumo entered the room.

"Hey I bought you a going away present."

All at once the tension that had crept in when Izumo had entered Totsuka's apartment melted away. Tatara's face brightened with a genuine smile. Izumo walked up to the other boy and sat down the tatami and placed the present in Tatara's hand. He opened it carefully and was greeted with a leather bound tome with golden lettering embossed on the smooth black surface.

_Around the World in Eighty Days_ , it read.

"Now you have your own copy of the book."

"Thank you Kusanagi san !" exclaimed Tatara as he quickly made space in his trunk for the book.

"So what exactly would you be doing in Kenya?" asked Izumo, curiously. Totsuka looked up at the sudden question and took the offered book from the other male's hand before placing it in the trunk.

"I talked with the manager of church properties. I will be teaching a rich heiress by the name of Anna Kushina. Her grandfather is one of the donors of the church."

"Aah… I see."

Izumo looked around the room before offering Totsuka help, which he refused. It was then something occurred to Izumo.

"Totsuka why are you being hired to teach a girl. Isn't it expected that the girl would be taught by a woman?" asked Izumo.

"Ah… Um… I don't know. I did ask Mr. Miller. However, all he said was that they needed to find a teacher fast or something." Replied Tatara. "I guess they didn't find a female teacher at such a short notice."

"Is that so." stated Izumo, a light frown on his face.

* * *

**Three weeks later, at the harbor**

The harbor was currently quite empty. The quiet morning was mostly undisturbed except for the few sailors about who hollered, as they passed the cargo to each other, which was to be loaded in the grand four-funnel ocean liner anchored at the docks, the Nadeshiko.  **(2)** Their shouts were interspersed with the screeches of seagulls, which flew high in the sky. The only living being on the docks, who was as still as the early morning was a young man named Totsuka Tatara.

He sat inside one of the shop on a stool, looking out of the window observing the hullabaloo as one of the sailors dropped a wooden box on his feet before letting out a string of colorful curses. The brunette winced in sympathy but his lips curled up in amusement.

Letting out a soft sigh he returned to his breakfast. Tatara had woken up quite early in the morning, though he couldn't quite decide the reason. He figured it was either excitement or nervousness or a bit of both.

The ship was to leave in three hours but he had arrived early, wanting some time alone for himself before he left Japan. He had left his luggage at his place. Yata was staying over, so he had left a note saying that he was going to the harbor and leaving instructions to bring the baggage at departure time.

Leaning back and wiping his mouth with his handkerchief, Tatara pulled out his wallet paying for the ramen and leaving. The wallet contained several notes of yen and some pounds along with his second-class ticket to Mombasa.  **(3)**

From what Mr. Miller had told him, Anna Kushina was the only granddaughter of Kokujioji Daikaku. After her parent's death, she was living with her grandfather. The most curious thing was the fact that the girl had been sent to live in one of the estates owned by Daikaku in Kenya instead of living with her grandfather or being sent to some boarding school in England.

Tatara had pondered over these facts before deciding that it was of no use. Instead he should be thankful for his job. He stood watching the sea as the docks started to crowd with passengers.

A shout caught his attention. The brunette turned, only to be hugged by an enthusiastic Yata. He laughed and patted the shorter male on his shoulder. Yata finally released him and stepped back.

Tatara looked up to see not just Izumo but Chitose, Dewa, Bandou, Shouhei and Kosuke had arrived as well to see him off.

"Guys you came to see me off!"

"Of course we did Totsuka san! How could we not." Replied Chitose, a wide grin on his handsome face.

Bandou nodded along and said "I brought your luggage with me."  
"Che you are saying it as if you carried the stuff yourself you idiot. As if we didn't see you try to pass it all off on Shouhei." Said Yata glowering at Bandou.

"It's okay I don't mind doing things for San-chan." Said Shouhei smiling while Bandou grumbled something that vaguely sounded like  _freakin-always-has-to-be-a-hero._

Kusanagi sighed blowing smoke into the air. "Anyway I think we should let Totsuka board. The ship leaves in about 30 minutes and he should get settled in."

The others agreed before approaching the brunette and hugging him. Chitose gave him a bear hug while the others kept their hugs short and simple. Kosuke however settled with ruffling Totsuka's neatly combed hair and muttering, "Look after yourself, Totsuka-san."

Out of all the other friends Totsuka had, Kosuke treated him like a pet. He still respected Totsuka but treated him like he was a stray cat.

Yata hugged Tatara again, asking him to take care of himself and to be safe. He pulled away and wiped his eyes. Seeing the tears on his face Bandou couldn't help but ask about them. This earned him a dressing down from Yata who yelled at him that he wasn't crying, something had gotten into his eye damn it.

Totsuka laughed at his friends' antics. Oh he was going to miss them all. He would miss Yata's fiery temper, which hid his gentleness; he would miss Bandou's cynical attitude and Shouhei's endless patience with his San-chan's attitude. He would definitely miss Kosuke's habit of picking up strays, Chitose's womanizing and Dewa's steady silence. Most of all he would miss Kusangi's mother henning and gentle scolding and his obsession with his bar and…

"Totsuka san… why are you crying?" asked Yata, his face falling. Seeing the tears rolling down Totsuka's eyes he suddenly tackle hugged the brunette before bursting into loud sobs.

Totsuka hugged the other close to himself trying his best not to cry. The others were also starting to get teary eyed so Kusanagi gently reminded them that Totsuka had to board the ship soon. He firmly believed that tears would be inauspicious for the journey.

Kusanagi watched as the brunette slowly pulled away from the sniffling teen and asked a porter to help load his luggage. He waved along with the others as Totsuka boarded the ship. Sighing in melancholy he dropped the cigarette and crushed its remains under his shoe.

He turned away, just as the ship started leaving the harbor when Chitose shouted. "Look its Totsuka san!"

Kusanagi whipped his head around and saw the tiny figure in familiar clothes on the deck waving at them. He waved back as the boys around him cheered and hollered, "Have a safe trip!"

Surrounded by people who were saying their goodbyes as their precious people left on a ship, going away, he could only wish that the brunette succeeded in fulfilling his dreams.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1): The Little prince by Saint Expuery was actually published in 1945 but I couldn't help but refer to it.
> 
> (2): Nadeshiko is also the name of the Japanese female football team and I thought it would make a great name for a ship, since Sakura would be too obvious.
> 
> (3): Mombasa is a very important port city of Kenya and was established 900 AD.
> 
> Also I know this story seems IzuTotsu at the moment but they are not going to be paired.


End file.
